Second Amendment sanctuary? Count Johnston out for now, Polisena says

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Despite a number of communities taking up resolutions to become “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” Mayor Joseph Polisena said he doesn’t see a need for Johnston to follow suit at this time.

Foster recently joined Burrillville, Hopkinton and West Greenwich as communities whose town councils voted in favor of resolutions embracing the “sanctuary” designation.

Polisena said there are more important topics in town to discuss right now, but he did not completely dismiss the notion. He said that if a law were to pass that required Johnston Police to perform a task – such as collecting and storing firearms – for which they would not be compensated, he left the door open.

The police department, he said, lacks the numbers to tackle such an endeavor, and officers have their hands full on patrol and solving crime.

“At this point, no,” Polisena said regarding the possibility of the Town Council taking up a “sanctuary” resolution. “Only if we had to pay – if it would cost us money to get these guns and store them. Let the State Police store them.”

Polisena described himself as a pro-Second Amendment but advocated for taking firearms away from those who have a history of domestic violence.

“But sometimes, the pendulum swings too far, and once again, I will step in and say, ‘Wait a minute. If we have to do anything that we’re not getting reimbursed for, we’re not doing it,’” Polisena said. “That’s when I will talk to the council, talk to my attorney and say we need to put in legislation or an ordinance that we’re not going to deal with it, because we have nowhere to put the guns.”

He added that he is “absolutely” concerned with mass shootings in schools, but doesn’t know if banning certain firearms is the way to go about preventing them.

“Here’s the concern with a lot of people … You ban this kind of weapon today, then tomorrow it’s, ‘Hey, we got that. Let’s ban this type of weapon,’” he said. “Then, pretty soon, they’ll be no weapons that people can have. So I think you really have to screen people.”

One specific type of firearm, though, has been involved in numerous mass shootings in recent years. According to USA Today, the National Rifle Association has called the AR-15, of which there are more than 8 million in the country, “the most popular rifle in America.”

The AR-15 was the firearm involved in mass shootings in Las Vegas, a nightclub in Orlando, the Newtown Elementary School in Connecticut and more. The National Shooting Sports Foundation describes the AR-15 as a “modern sporting rifle,” saying the reason AR-15s are “misunderstood” is “political.”

Polisena said that banning one type of gun could lead to a slippery slope, but conceded that if legislation was passed banning the AR-15, “I guess that’s fine” – as long as Johnston doesn’t have to foot the bill.

“Obviously, I don’t have an AR-15, nor would I want to own one,” he said. “But if the Constitution says you can own one, then you an own one. The concern is, it’s the AR-15 today. Tomorrow it’s the pump shotgun. Then it’s the 9-millimeter with the 12-round clip. When does it stop?”

Polisena said he wouldn’t skirt state law if legislation was passed banning a firearm, but he aims to avoid a financial hit in the event something is brought to the State House floor.

“If the state’s passing a law, then the state has to do it, not the cities and towns,” he said. “You can’t avoid state law, but we can avoid saying we’re not going to do this because it’s going to be a financial impact, unless [the state wants] to reimburse us – and there’s no talk of reimbursements to cities and towns for anything. It’s just feel-good legislation right now.”

While Polisena said some legislation could be beneficial, he doesn’t believe taking guns away will prevent mass shootings. He advocated for more spending on mental health, as well as a seven-day waiting period.

“I believe in getting checked out by the FBI and so forth,” he said. “I believe in that, because if you want to have a gun you need to obviously go through the process of waiting and so forth. Some people want to shorten that and I don’t believe in that. As I said before, you’ve really got to think of what you’re going to do, because today it’s this, tomorrow it’s that.”

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  • ramrodd

    It's a Trap!

    2nd Amendment Sanctuaries Threaten Gun Rights

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOhdcNR1bK8

    Friday, May 24, 2019 Report this